Love Like You
by High Roller Yunalesca
Summary: [Sequel to "Eyes on Me"] Ruby and Sapphire adjust to life in England as mothers of a special little baby with friends, new and old alike.
1. Chapter 1

Things have been perfect since Ruby and Garnet and I uprooted everything to live in the United Kingdom. Garnet's already made friends with lots of babies her age, absolute sweet little angels. Meanwhile, Ruby and I are struggling to get by with the money we have, but given how much worse we've been through, our financial issues don't seem all that terrible. I'm hoping things over here will stay just the way they are. Still, I can't stop thinking about all the things that happened over the past year, especially shortly before Garnet was born.

I still don't know what's happened with my mom since we went our separate ways. I have no way of contacting her to see if she's even still alive at this point or if she's out lying dead in a ditch somewhere. Well, wherever she is, I hope she's safe. Anything is better than staying with Dad. Speaking of, Rose has just informed me that he lost his battle with terminal brain cancer. What a horrible way to go. Still, that's not an excuse to treat me and Mom like crap. Of the two of us, he hurt me the most by rejecting me the moment he found out I was gay. He betrayed me. For that, I simply cannot find it within me to forgive him. It's not like I'd be able to go to his funeral anyway. I could barely afford a plane ticket back to the States, as is.

I haven't heard back from Aunt Goldie, Aunt Maya, or Grandma Diamond, either. The last time we talked, Aunt Petunia had taken her own life by jumping off the roof of a building. We were all so shocked at the time. Aunt Petunia had seemed so happy when I interacted with her last, so for her to just up and commit suicide left me reeling with all sorts of feelings. I was especially left with this empty feeling of not being able to help her, especially with her depression.

It's almost Christmas time now. I can't bear to think any more about all the terrible things Ruby and I went through before we had Garnet. No one should be thinking about these things during Christmas time. Christmas time is supposed to be jovial and heartwarming.

"What do you think we should get our friends for Christmas?" Ruby asks me.

"Well, I'm not sure," I reply uncertainly. "The best I could come up with is some new furniture. How about you?"

Ruby thinks about it for a minute. Then it's like a light bulb has gone off over her head. "What about a Game Boy Advance?"

"That sounds like a good idea, but how will we know if they want a Game Boy Advance or not?"

"I don't know. Maybe we can ask them."

I just laugh, realizing that my brain forgot to think just then. "Oh yeah, that's right. Maybe we can organize a Secret Santa event or something. That should be pretty interesting, I bet."

Ruby's eyes beam up at the idea of holding a Secret Santa event. "A Secret Santa event? I'd love to! I used to participate in one of those when I was on the football team. The other players and I always got a kick out of what we got each other."

"I bet. Hopefully, we can pull this one off just as well as the Secret Santa event you had with your football friends."

"Yeah."

All of a sudden, Garnet starts fussing. However, Ruby gives her a bottle before she can start screaming, and Garnet starts sucking away at the bottle like there's no tomorrow. I'm actually impressed by how well Ruby is handling all this. At first, when Garnet was born, Ruby seemed afraid to hold her even for just a minute. Now, there will be these little moments when Ruby will rock her to sleep when I'm too tired to do it myself. For that, I'm always grateful.

* * *

A few hours later, Ruby and I have decided to stop by the Fowler house and pay the family a visit. The Fowlers are a nice bunch. Their daughter Marie is especially adorable with just about everything she does. The last time Ruby and I visited them, we couldn't help but notice that she had a tear-shaped birthmark on her left cheek.

Anyway, once the Fowlers have let us inside, we start talking about how cute our children are like always. One thing that people always seem to notice about Garnet right away is how one of her eyes is naturally a brilliant blue. At times, I can't help but envy her because I've always pretended that my eyes were a grayish-blue instead of a dark brown. It's weird, too. Neither Ruby nor I have a genetic predisposition for blue eyes (as far as we're aware, anyhow), so I don't know how this could've happened. Then again, it's probably not that big of a deal so I guess I shouldn't be dwelling on it at all. After all, Garnet doesn't seem to care right now, so why should we?

"It's so nice that you could come over, Ruby and Sapphire," Mrs. Fowler says. "You know how eager our kids are to play with their friends."

"We sure do, Mrs. Fowler," Ruby replies eagerly. "Where are the kids right now?"

"Oh, they're over at their grandmum's house," Mr. Fowler replies while adjusting his glasses. "No worry. I'll pick them up in a minute."

"That's great. So how are the kids?"

"Oh, the children are great. You should see them when they're at school. They are always striving to be top of the class, always making perfect marks... even Marie is already showing how intelligent she is."

"Awesome. Well, Garnet is a great kid as well. She may not seem like it, but she is really smart for an eleven-month-old."

"So... do you plan to have any more after this?"

I'm floored by Mr. Fowler's question. After everything I went through while having Garnet, I'd rather not do it again.

"Nah," Ruby replies. "We'd rather stop at perfection."

From there, the conversation peters out and we are left with awkward silence. All that's left for us to do is wait for Mr. Fowler to leave and pick up the kids.


	2. Chapter 2

So Mr. Fowler has just picked up the kids from their grandmum's house. We can tell that the Fowler children are well-behaved, especially Marie. I keep drawing my attention back to Marie for some reason. It must be that tear-shaped birthmark on her face. With how dark it is compared to the rest of her face, it certainly strikes out.

"Children, you remember that lovely lesbian couple with the baby who lives across the street from us, don't you?" Mr. Fowler asks his children. "Well, they decided to stop by for another visit today."

"Sounds great," the oldest boy says without the slightest bit of emotion in his voice.

"Come on, Denny," Mr. Fowler says. "You can show more emotion than that, can't you?"

"Sounds great," Denny says again, only he puts in more effort to sound enthused.

Mr. Fowler just smiles. "That's better."

"Are you my dad?" Marie asks Ruby.

Ruby can only laugh at this. "Aw man, kids say the darndest things."

Mrs. Fowler herself can't help but laugh. "They sure do. In many ways, she reminds me of her father: so funny and charming. God knows what she'll want to do when she grows up."

Mr. Fowler just chuckles. "Couldn't agree more."

We are probably all together only a couple more hours in this room before she changes the subject. There is no good way to pass the time, so I help unwind by engaging in a couple of stories about my parents. I begin by telling them about the time my parents and I visited my Grandma and Grandpa Dahl in Florida. Grandma and Grandpa Dahl had adopted my mother right when the Vietnam War ended in 1971. According to Grandpa, they'd recently lost a baby so when Mom came into their lives, she couldn't have come at a better time. They went on to have more kids after that, but we've hardly ever visited Mom's side of the family. So when we'd visited Grandma and Grandpa Dahl that one time, it was... alright. Nothing too dramatic happened... except for the fact that Uncle Cody had been secretly dating his teacher's daughter. After I've wrapped that story up, I tell them about the time I had to accompany Grandma Diamond for a music festival when I was only six years old.

"Wow..." Denny breathes. "You seem to have an... interesting family."

I'm not sure how to respond. "Uh, thanks?"

He gives me a kind smile. "So, what do you do?"

"Oh... I'm a singer. I sing for public events. It's how I met Ruby."

"Very cool." Denny tilts his head. "How long have you been singing?"

"Oh, about five years. I always wanted to be a professional singer when I was little, but because I'm with Ruby, I don't know if that will be possible back in the States."

"Why not?"

"Well, it's because my dad's family is homophobic. You see, my Grandma Diamond and the rest of her children run the Diamond Brights record company, and they pride themselves on being 'traditional.' In other words, they don't accept anybody who's not straight."

"I see..." Denny motions something at his younger brother. "Hey, Gideon, you wouldn't happen to know who Whitney Diamond is, would you?"

"I sure do," Gideon replies. "Why?"

"Did you know that she and her daughters are bigots?"

Gideon shakes his head. "What about Petunia, though? She's never been hateful toward the LGBT community."

I just let out a sigh. "Guys, please, let's not talk about this. Besides, Aunt Petunia's dead, haven't you heard?"

"No..." Gideon breathes. "What happened?"

"Let's just say... life got the best of her. That's all."

* * *

Boy, was that visit tense. I just don't feel like talking about my side of the family anymore. All it does is bring up memories... bittersweet memories... I'll admit, I still miss my parents, even after everything I've been through... even after everything Dad put me through. Still, I'm better off leaving them in the past and making room for my family in the present... my own family.

Ruby takes off her tie and just throws it aside like it's nothing. I'm not even going to bother with bringing that up. The visit has taken its toll on the both of us. After setting Garnet down into her playpen, I take off my coat and my heels and leave them around the vicinity of the couch.

"God, that was awkward," Ruby says. "Maybe we should stop visiting the Fowlers for a while."

"Agreed," I reply.

"I can't help but get this feeling that they only put up with us because we're different from their other neighbors."

"I think they're just trying to be nice, Ruby."

"I guess, but I can't help but feel... that they don't really like us."

"What makes you say that?"

"Just this week, some of my friends have told me that Mrs. Fowler thinks that I'm just 'a man pretending to be a woman' and that she couldn't believe I would 'mutilate myself to feel validation.'"

I audibly gasp. "Is that true?"

"I'm not sure. These are just rumors, after all. Still, it really hurts that people would think that way about me."

"Me too. I hate it when people just assume things about others because they can't be bothered to understand or show empathy."

"Yeah..." Ruby just blushes and kisses me on the cheek. "People may suck, but at least we have each other. Frankly, I'm just happy to have two special people who love me. I'm especially happy that we're going to set good examples for Garnet. Of all the people she'll have to look up to, we're the ones who will make the most difference in her life. I sure as hell don't want to let her down, do you?"

I shake my head. "Not at all. We're absolutely going to see to it that she doesn't have to recover from her childhood."

Ruby heartily laughs. "Aw yeah! You and me and Garnet forever, baby! I love you so much!"

Now it's my turn to blush. "I love you too, eternal flame." I take this as an opportunity to snatch a kiss from her.

We might start making out right here... but all good things must come to an end. Garnet suddenly starts crying, and I immediately jump up to see what's wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

Ruby pinches her nostrils together and makes a sound at the back of her throat. "Oh God, ugh. Pretty sure _that_ ain't coming out anytime soon."

I just sigh dejectedly. "I guess not. We just bought this onesie, too. What a waste."

I press down the pedal with my foot and throw the ruined onesie in along with the rest of the diapers. The lid slams down, though oddly enough Garnet doesn't seem to be fazed by the noise. She's never disturbed by loud noises, which probably comes as a relief when there's a thunderstorm outside or someone's knocking on the door to our flat.

"At least we have enough onesies to dress up a small army," I assure myself.

"Yeah, if that army was made up of babies," Ruby replies.

"In fact, you could even call it a tiny army."

"Ooh, good one! Bump me one!"

"You'll probably want to wait until I wash my hands for that."

"Well, you got me there. I'll take an IOU on that."

I just let out a small chuckle before leaving the room to clean up. Suds fill the sink, the bubbles lingering in the drain long after I've turned off the faucet. I can't believe how much being a mom changed my life. Before, I wouldn't worry about the little things so much. Now, I'm constantly on edge. I suppose that's probably a good thing, though, since constantly being stressed out must mean that my maternal instincts are kicking in. I didn't even think I had maternal instincts before I got pregnant, but the day Garnet was born, I vowed to do everything in my power to protect her. I've also found myself inclined to listen since even a second without hearing anything from Garnet might mean something's wrong. Then again, if anything did happen to her, Ruby and I would be on that right away.

"Hey, Sapphire!" Ruby calls out to me from another room.

"Yeah, Ruby?" I call back.

"Check out these packages our friends sent us from America!"

"Alright, coming!"

As soon as I make my way over to the living room where Ruby and Garnet are, my eye is drawn towards the large pile of packages from our friends back in America. Small ones, large ones... these packages surely contain what our friends, mutual or otherwise, think we might need. We immediately start with the smallest one.

"Ooh, check this out," Ruby says. "It's more onesies. We've already got so many. What are we gonna do with these?"

"Really?" I ask curiously. "Let me see."

I manage to snatch up a onesie from the package. It's purple, and on the front are the words "I Am A Conversation."

I just smile. "Aww, how cute."

"Yeah." Ruby gives me a wide grin. "I love when people strike up conversations about our child. It makes me proud."

"I know it does."

"Hey, look! There's even more in here!"

Indeed, I can spot a purple onesie that reads "Mommy's Princess," a white onesie covered in red hearts, a red onesie with the words "Eternal Flame Baby," a blue onesie with the words "Ice Ice Baby," and some more novelty baby clothes.

"Wow, these sure are something," I remark quietly. "Gotta love the 'Mommy's Princess' one."

"Yeah, and that 'Eternal Flame Baby' one! Reminds me of myself."

"Who do you think bought that one?"

"Amy, I guess?"

"Yeah, that seems like her. Did you look and see what else we got?"

"Not yet."

"Well, why don't you check real quick? I'm hoping they sent more than just onesies."

Ruby gets on that right away and opens up some more packages. I come and join her. In those smaller packages, there are some baby bottles and pacifiers. Some of them just have plain colors to them and no other features. I have no doubt in my mind that Pearl had sent those our way. It just seems like her to take into consideration what kind of things a baby will need. After all, she told me once that she helped Petunia babysit a friend's younger sister. Damn it, why did I have to think about Petunia?

"Hey, Sapphy!" Ruby exclaims. "Look how Garnet's liking the onesie I changed her into."

I turn my head around to see Garnet wearing a different onesie from the ones we just received. It's a white onesie with purple letters spelling our her name. Garnet just smiles and exposes the two pairs of teeth in her mouth.

I smile back. "Aww..."

Garnet just looks so adorable. It's almost unbelievable that she came out of my body. She's my pride and joy... my daughter. She helped me and Ruby realize what life is about. It's about the feeling of love, about being surrounded by family... it's about how much we care for one another. It's about how important it is to show love, care, and support for one another regardless of race, religion, etc. It's about knowing that when one dies, they don't actually disappear. They stay with us for as long as we can make them... but I'm getting carried away here.

I pick Garnet up and have her head lay on my shoulder. She gurgles something that I can't understand, but I hope it means "I love you."

* * *

"Hello, Grandma?" I say as soon as she picks up the phone. "I have to tell you something."

"Yes, what is it, starlight?" Her voice is cold and emotionless. "It better be something important."

"I was wondering if I could borrow some money from you..."

I can hear her sigh at the other end. "Please don't do this. I've already had to grieve over what happened to your aunt. I don't need you asking for money on top of that."

"Why not? I've been trying to reach you, but you never answer my phone calls."

"Starlight, whatever it is you have to tell me..." She lets out a heavy sigh, heavy enough that I can hear her frustration with everything that's happening. "Please, just get it over with..."

I gulp. "Okay... I think my daughter Garnet's deaf in one ear... or at least partially deaf."

"Really? This is why you wanted to call me now?"

"Look, I get that you might be stressed out after what happened to Aunt Petunia, but Ruby and I need your help. Garnet needs something to help her hear better."

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that Grandma Diamond paid attention to anything except for Ruby's name. "Ruby? Who's Ruby?"

"Ruby's my girlfriend, Grandma." I don't hear from her for the next couple minutes. "Hello?"

"I'm hanging up now. Let me know when you've gotten out of that kind of lifestyle, okay, starlight?"

Just like that, she hangs up. It's then that I start crying. Just like that, Grandma's abandoned me at a time when I might need her most. I don't know what we can do now.


	4. Chapter 4

Since Grandma Diamond proved to be of no help, Ruby and I have decided to ask Pearl and her family for money to help Garnet instead. After all, Pearl and her sisters come from an affluent family, and they come from an affluent family of doctors at that. Surely, they've had experience with deaf people (or partially deaf people).

Garnet has no idea that there's anything wrong with her. She just thinks she's like every other baby. Ruby and I don't want to tell her otherwise, but we worry nevertheless what will happen to her when she grows up and the other kids start to notice her. She's a lovely little baby. Her skin has turned the same shade of brown as Ruby's, and her hair is just like hers as well. Her eyes hold the same round shape as Ruby's. Heck, one of her eyes is a dark brown like Ruby's. The rest of Garnet's face came from me. We have the same nose and lips. I feel like she's a fusion made of our love, and she's a fusion who will thrive because of that love.

Ruby and I need to make sure that our fusion can thrive under the best circumstances, and doing that means helping her hear like everyone else. However, I can't help but wonder what Garnet might think about that when she gets older. Will she want to hear like everyone else... or will she want to embrace her partial deafness? Honestly, who knows?

After dialing Pearl's number, I wait for her to pick up. I'm not sure how I should be asking her for the money. Pearl's never been the kind of person to send money overseas to someone. She's always exercised caution when it comes to these situations out of fear scammers might be on the other line to take advantage of her. Then again, Pearl and I have been friends for a while, so there shouldn't be too much of a problem, right? After waiting a couple minutes, Pearl finally picks up.

"Hello?" Pearl sounds.

"Oh, hi, Pearl," I greet her. "You mind if I ask you something?"

"Not at all. Why do you ask?"

"Well, Ruby and I just discovered that Garnet is partially deaf."

I can hear Pearl gasp over the phone. "She is?"

"Yeah. We need money to invest in either a cochlear implant or a hearing aid. I'm desperate for her to have at least some kind of normal life."

Pearl is silent for what feels like three minutes. I'm hoping she's thinking this over. Finally, she speaks again. "Alright. I'll help you. However..." She leaves in a dramatic pause. "...we must meet in person. I'm not about to transfer money to you when we're miles apart."

"Oh, thank you. When can we meet up?"

"Hopefully, soon enough. I need to buy a plane ticket first."

"Ah, okay. Well, I hope you see us soon."

"Me too. Bye bye now."

And just like that, Pearl hangs up. I breathe an uneasy sigh. I'm not sure what to expect next. The future doesn't seem certain for us, and it especially doesn't seem certain for Garnet. I just hope it doesn't seem as terrible to her as it does to me and Ruby. All we can do, however, is wait.

* * *

Ruby and I sit in the waiting room, hoping that the pediatrician will come out soon and beckon our daughter's name. Garnet sits in my lap, sweet and patient and not seeming to care about anything that's going on. I just beam down at her, happy that she's enjoying herself now. All that matters to me at this moment is that she's happy. I just want to make sure I can protect her whenever possible from a society that struggles to understand.

Finally, the pediatrician comes out and calls for our daughter. "Garnet Harvey-Dahl?"

I gasp while pretending to be surprised. "That's you, Garnet!"

We get up, Garnet holding onto me, and we make our way into the pediatrician's office. Hopefully, things will turn out for the best. They have to... right? I certainly hope Garnet's life will turn out better than before.

Ruby and I are nervous about what will happen next.

"So..." the pediatrician begins. "You two must be Garnet's parents."

"That's right," I tell her.

"Alright, let's have a look at your little girl. Oh my goodness, one of her eyes is so blue."

I just chuckle. "Yeah. A lot of people have noticed."

"Oh yes, I'm sure of it. Alright, let's have a look."

The pediatrician takes Garnet out of my arms and sets her down on the table. She goes through the usual process: listening to Garnet's chest, weighing her, checking her eyes and mouth and ears...

"Ms. Dahl?" the pediatrician asks of me.

"Yes?" I ask back.

"Look at her."

I do so. I'm not sure why, though. Nothing seems different to me.

"Yes, doctor?" I ask curiously.

"Going by the one blue eye she has and the fact that her hearing isn't fully there..." she begins. "I've come to the conclusion that she in fact has Waardenburg syndrome."

Wait, what? I've never heard of that. I ask her, "W-Waardenburg syndrome? What's that?"

The pediatrician just smiles. "I'm glad you asked. Waardenburg syndrome is a rare genetic condition characterized by at least some degree of congenital hearing loss and pigmentation deficiencies. These pigmentation deficiencies can include bright blue eyes (or a blue eye and a brown eye), a white forelock or patches of light skin. These basic features constitute type 2 of the condition, which just so happens to be the same type your daughter has."

"So... aside from that, she's okay?" Ruby asks uncertainly.

"The only thing you need to worry about at this point is her partial deafness," the pediatrician replies. "Have you decided what you want to do about it?"

"Maybe we can go for a cochlear implant. Surely, that might help, right?"

"Well, yes, but getting a cochlear implant is pretty expensive. Do you think you could afford it?"

"I hope so. We just asked a friend if she could give us money to help Garnet hear."

"Well, good luck."

Ruby just smiles hopefully. "Thanks, doc."

* * *

Ruby and I can barely hold in our excitement when Pearl gets off her flight from the United States (specifically Delaware). She has her pink duffel bag on tow. From the looks of it, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of stuff in there.

"Man, you travel light, huh?" Ruby asks jokingly.

"I only take the basic necessities with me when I travel," Pearl answers with the intonation of an erudite college professor.

"It's so good to see you again, Pearl," I tell her. "So how are things with Rose?"

Pearl twitches slightly. Something about that question has made her feel uncomfortable. She just says, "Good, good, couldn't be better."

"Has everything been great since you moved with her to Delaware?"

"Things have been... alright. Lately, though, something's been bothering me."

"Well, what's wrong?"

"Ever since she started hanging out with this guy named Greg, I've been feeling... left out."

"Don't tell me you're jealous, Pearl," Ruby jokes.

Pearl is now flabbergasted by what Ruby has just said. "What? No! I'm not jealous. No way, no how. Greg is just some stupid guy Rose wants to spend all of her time with. I bet you that in a few weeks, Rose will get bored of him and go back to hanging out with me."

Ruby just snickers and mutters under her breath, "Oh yeah, totally not jealous..."

"C'mon, Ruby," I say to her. "That's enough."

Pearl breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Sapphire."

"Any time, Pearl. Now come on. Why don't you stay with us? You can sleep on the couch."

We make our way out of the airport and back to our apartment where Pearl will be staying for a while.


	5. Chapter 5

Later that night, while Ruby and Pearl and I are getting ready for bed, Garnet starts screaming at the top of her lungs through the baby monitor. I stop doing my bedtime routine for only a moment to make sure my baby is okay.

"Hold on, Garnet," I call out to her while rushing my way into her room. "Momma's coming!"

I make my way over as quickly as possible, and I see Garnet crying out for something. I pick her up, and she starts to quiet down a little. I hold her close to me, making sure she knows I'm here.

"It's okay, Garnet," I tell her. "It's okay. I'm here. It's going to be alright."

While she clings to me, I move for the rocking chair in the corner and sit down. As I lean back, the chair moves back with me. Garnet looks up at me with her two different-colored eyes, one brown and one blue. Even before she'd officially been diagnosed with Waardenburg syndrome, I already knew she was special. Her diagnosis didn't change that. Still, I wonder how I could know what her life will be like in the next ten years. Things might be great now... but will they stay that way a decade later?

Ruby comes in to see what's going on.

"Hey, Laffy Sapphy," she says. "Did I miss anything?"

I just chuckle. "Not really. Nothing exciting, at least."

"Phew." Ruby walks over and lowers herself to Garnet's level. "Hey, little girl. Are you okay?"

Garnet just stares at her while babbling.

Ruby can only laugh. "Oh, Garnet, you know how to make me laugh."

Garnet continues to stare at Ruby. It's as if she's sensing something, but she is utterly silent. It's as if she can sense uneasiness from her.

"What's going on in here?" I hear a voice ask out loud.

I turn my head to see Pearl walking into the nursery. Her turquoise sleep mask has been pulled up halfway towards the top of her head, and bags are already starting to form underneath her eyes. She just stares in annoyance.

"Oh, hi, Pearl," I tell her. "I was just trying to rock my daughter to sleep."

"Ah," she replies. "I see. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, ask me anything."

"Do you remember when you first had Garnet and Rose had said, 'Welcome to the planet Earth?'"

"What about that?"

"Well, I always thought that it was really special, especially for Garnet."

"Yeah, it's always special when a baby is born."

"Well, yes... but Garnet... she reminds me of how much hope there is in the world. She reminds me... of you guys."

"Aww, that's really sweet to hear. Thank you, Pearl."

"It's the least I could say. Well, I'm going back to sleep."

"Okay. Merry Christmas Eve Eve."

"'Merry Christmas Eve Eve...' I can't believe how silly that sounds."

Pearl amusingly shakes her head and walks out of the nursery to sleep on the couch. Meanwhile, Ruby and I just decide to stay in here for a bit until Garnet has completely gone to sleep.

* * *

Christmas has come at last. Ruby and I have just now gotten up and we're waiting for Pearl to do the same.

Pearl seems tired lately, and not just because of Garnet. I wonder if she's having trouble sleeping because of Rose? She did seem awfully jealous that Rose was spending more time with Greg than with her, even if she wouldn't say so. I guess she's still reeling from Aunt Petunia's death. They were the best of friends, after all. One minute, they were inseparable. The next, Petunia... was gone. Now, from her point of view, it seems like she might lose Rose as well.

Ruby and I just look at each other, wondering which one of us will have to wake her up.

"So... you wanna be the one to wake her up or not?" Ruby asks me.

I just shrug. "I don't see why not."

"Okay, good. I'm gonna go wake Garnet up while you get Pearl."

"Okay, thank you."

I get up from our bed and make our way into the living room where Pearl sleeps on the couch. I gently lay my hand on her shoulder and shake her awake.

Pearl comes to. "Sapphire?" she asks, a little groggy.

I smile and pat her on the head. "Yeah?"

She smiles back and sits up. "I guess you woke me up because you had to, huh?"

"Yeah. Merry Christmas. Did you sleep well?"

Pearl just yawns. "Not really. I couldn't stop thinking about Rose all night. Seriously, I think... I'm afraid of losing her."

"You really think Rose might leave you for Greg?"

Pearl is at a struggle for words. "I... I honestly don't know, but with all that time they spend together..."

"Pearl, don't worry about it. I'm sure that Rose wants to hang out with you, too. Just because she spends most of her time with Greg doesn't meant she won't make room for you, too."

"Easy for you to say when you've never had to worry about Ruby running off with someone else."

"Well, I did at first, but then once our relationship started to stabilize, I realized that she would never do that kind of thing. You just need to trust that she'll never betray you."

"Easier said than done."

I sigh heavily and start turning away. "Actually, maybe just forget I said anything. Why don't you just get up and join me and Ruby and Garnet around the Christmas tree?"

Pearl instantly perks up. "Wait, that's why you woke me up? Well, why didn't you just say so? I'd love to join you guys."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Come on!"

* * *

Ruby, Garnet, Pearl, and I have just finished sorting through our Christmas presents. The next thing we have to do now is give out presents (some of which were purchased at the eleventh hour) to the neighbors. After that, it's just some household chores to finish up. We should be happy because we've had fun while Pearl is visiting. It's too bad we won't be able to spend New Year's Eve with her. She'll already be back in Delaware by then, but I don't know if she'll want to go back there when the day comes.

While balancing Garnet squarely on my hip, I practically tiptoe my way over to Pearl to ask her something.

"Yes, Sapphire?" Pearl asks back. "What is it?"

"So... what do you plan to do once you go back to Delaware?"

Pearl just shakes her head in frustration. "I don't know, to be honest. I guess I could have a talk with Rose about Greg. I don't know if it'll do much, though."

"Is that what you really want to do? Are you sure that will work?"

"Not really. I've just been pretending not to feel resentful about the whole thing."

"That's not really healthy, though."

"I know, I know. What else am I supposed to do, though?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Maybe talk to her like you were considering a moment ago?"

"Like I said, I don't know if it'll do much."

"You could always give it a shot."

"I guess you're right. I'll think it over later. So, uh... you said you wanted to give the Fowlers their presents first, right?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely. Ruby and I got some neat things for them a few days ago. Do you think Gideon and his siblings will want a Gamecube?"

Pearl shrugs. "I guess. Then again, I was never really into video games like you and the other kids were."

Ruby raises an eyebrow. "Did you and your sisters ever like Pokemon?"

Pearl shrugged again. "Possibly, yeah."

Ruby snickers a bit. "Okay, I thought you might have."

"What does that even have to do with anything, though?" Pearl asks, confused.

Ruby just smirks. "Nothing. Just wanted to see if you'd ever been into Pokemon."

I can't help but giggle at the banter. "Alright, you guys. We gotta get moving. These presents aren't going to deliver themselves."

And off we go to the Fowlers' house.


	6. Chapter 6

Now that we've wrapped up all of our Christmas errands for this year, Ruby and Garnet and Pearl and I have finally decided to go back home and spend some time together. Nothing like the Christmas spirit to make us feel high-spirited...

Ruby is the first one to flop onto the couch, followed by me while Garnet holds on to me and then Pearl. "What a day, huh, guys?" she asks us.

I let out a happy sigh. "Definitely. So what do you want to do now?"

Ruby just shrugs. "I don't know. It's only 6 o'clock. Not sure what we could do before the day's up."

I just sit there and think for a minute. "Hmm... wait, I think I have an idea."

"Let me hear it."

"How about we play a board game to pass the time?"

"What kind of board game?"

"Well, we've got Monopoly, Candy Land, Clue..."

"How about Candy Land?"

"Is that what you want?"

Ruby nods vigorously. "And Garnet can go first since she's the youngest of us here."

"Ah... okay. We can play Candy Land."

"Yippee!"

Ruby jumps up from the couch and starts sprinting off towards the nearest closet. Meanwhile, Pearl and Garnet and I just stay here and wait for her to come back. So we wait... and wait... After what feels like five minutes, Ruby has already come back with the box containing Candy Land in her hands. She's shaking with excitement, I can tell.

"Awright!" Ruby exclaims fiercely. "Let's do this!"

She all but slams Candy Land down onto our coffee table. It shocks me that the force she bestows upon it doesn't cause it to break instantly.

"Whoa!" Pearl exclaims herself. "Careful with that!"

Ruby just snickers. "Sorry, I just can't wait to start playing."

"Alright, Ruby," I tell her. "Since you pointed out that Garnet's the youngest of us, she can go first."

"Okay, okay." Ruby takes a deep breath and removes the board game from its packaging. Then she assembles it so that we're ready to play before then handing a card over to Garnet. "Hey, baby, you wanna go first?"

Garnet squeals with delight.

"Alright, Garnet. See one of those plastic things in front of you?"

Garnet nods her head.

"That one's you." Ruby gestures towards a green plastic figure. "Go ahead. Pick it up."

Garnet reaches out towards the green plastic figure, but Pearl picks it up before she can and hands it to me.

"Uh, Ruby?" Pearl speaks out. "I don't think we should be giving plastic figures to a baby, much less yours. Those figures are choking hazards."

Ruby's eye twitches slightly but she manages to calm down before she can act irrationally. "You're right. Sapphy, why don't you make the first move?"

"Alright, let's do this." I take a deep breath and place the plastic figure onto a red square on the board. "Good start. Alright, whose turn is it now?"

Ruby jumps up and down excitedly like she's a little kid again. "Ooh, ooh, ooh! I think it's my turn now!"

"Alright, go right ahead."

"Oh boy!"

Ruby draws another card and places another plastic figure onto a colored square on the board. "Aw yeah, baby! I'm on fire!"

I giggle a bit. "We've still got a long way to go. Anyway, it's Pearl's turn now."

* * *

Four days after our remarkable Christmas, it's time for Pearl to go back home to Delaware. She's given us the money we need for Garnet's cochlear implant, so there's no reason for her to stick around here any longer. We exchange each other our goodbyes and promise to talk again soon through the phone. It was fun while it lasted.

Now, with Pearl gone, it's just me and Ruby and Garnet again. All that's left for us to do is wait for New Year's Eve and then a whole new year. The best day about looking for to New Year's Day is also celebrating Garnet's birthday. She's going to be a year old... I still can't believe it. She's already growing up so fast. I don't know how I'm supposed to handle this.

Garnet is so precocious, so sweet, and so curious about everything. Besides Ruby, she's undoubtedly the best thing that's ever happened to me. I don't know how my life would look if I didn't have Ruby and Garnet in my life, and frankly I don't want to know. I really don't want to know what my life would be like without them. I really don't want to know.

Ruby and I get to work preparing for bedtime. Today was a long day. I can't be certain of what tomorrow will bring, but for Garnet's sake, I'm hoping tomorrow will be a good day.

* * *

It's New Year's Eve now. Has it already been a year since...? No, I don't want to think about that. Jasper getting shot in the head, Lapis shooting up a party, two guests dying. Their last moments still haunt me. I'll never forget them... they simply are irreplaceable.

Ruby and I decide to just talk.

"So... what do you think we should do for Garnet's first birthday?" Ruby asks me.

"Well..." I begin. "It has to be really special. We also have to make sure that New Year's Day doesn't overshadow it. Should be easy enough, right? We just have to ring in the new year at midnight, then celebrate Garnet's birthday sometime in the afternoon."

"Yeah, that's right. That way, Garnet won't have to feel resentful about having to celebrate her birthday on a holiday. Just one thing, though... where can we celebrate her birthday?"

"Well, right here, right?"

"Well, yeah, obviously. But who can we invite? Pearl's already gone home, and I don't know if I feel comfortable having to celebrate Garnet's first birthday with the Fowlers."

"I know." I gently place my hand on Ruby's shoulder. "I'm not sure I want to celebrate it with them, either, especially if they don't make you feel comfortable in your own skin. Tell you what, why don't we ask some of our other neighbors to take us somewhere later? I'm sure they know some places."

Ruby smiles warmly. "You know what? That sounds like a good idea. Thanks, Sapphy."

"No problem. I'll have to call them tomorrow and ask them about it. In the meantime, why don't we start thinking about what kind of cake to get her?"

"Awesome. I want to make sure it's as special as she is."

"Me too, Ruby. Me too."


	7. Chapter 7

It's almost time for Garnet's birthday. Oh, I'm so excited! She's going to be one! I still can't believe I had her a year ago. Time flies by so fast. I don't know how I can handle that. For that matter, I'm not sure how Ruby can handle it, either. I don't think she even anticipated having a child with anyone, much less me. We are so grateful for one another, for everything that's happened thus far. Garnet helps us to be even more grateful for what we have. She's only almost a year old and she's already changing the world.

That reminds me, we've already almost finished up with the birthday party. Our neighbors, the Mitchells, will be stopping by along with their own neighbors and some of the other neighborhood kids. I can't wait for Garnet to make friends with these people. The Mitchells seems like relatively nice people, at the very least. They are all going to take pictures, and it will be a party that we will never forget. Everyone's going to have a good time, I'm sure of it.

But first, we have to call the Mitchells and tell them they're invited. I doubt they remember us too well from our last encounter, but hey, it's worth a shot.

I pick up the phone from its cradle and wait for the Mitchells on the other end to pick up. I wait a few seconds, then a few more, then a few more... at last, they answer the phone.

"Hello?" Mr. Mitchell asks. "Who is this?"

"It's me, Mr. Mitchell," I answer him. "You know, Sapphire Dahl?"

"Oh, right... why are you callin' today?"

"Right, so Garnet's birthday is tomorrow, and Ruby and I want you to be there to celebrate with us."

"Aww. How old is your daughter again?"

"She'll be one tomorrow, Mr. Mitchell."

"Bloody hell, she's growin' up so fast."

"She sure is, Mr. Mitchell. Aren't babies amazing?"

"They sure are, Sapphire. I can still remember when my own little ones were Garnet's age."

"I bet you miss those days when they were babies, huh?"

"Oh yes, I do, but that's just how life goes. One minute, they're just helpless babies. The next, they're all grown up and headin' off to university."

"That's nice. So can Ruby and I expect to see you and the rest of the family tomorrow?"

There's silence on the other end for a second. "Of course. Anything for your little Garnet."

I can feel myself beaming with joy. "Oh, thank you, Mr. Mitchell."

"Anytime, love."

It's after he says this that I decide to hang up.

* * *

"Alright, the gang's all here," Ruby proudly states once everyone has come in.

Thank God, too. We only have just hours to spare before the party can begin. Garnet sits in her high chair, awing at all the strangers who are in the room with us. Like with many babies, Garnet is curious about everyone and everything. She can't be any more curious than today when everyone has gathered into our apartment (or flat, as the British would call it) to celebrate her and her alone. She already knows now that today is a special day because it falls on a holiday, but she has no idea why this day in particular should be so special to her. She's only a year old and she's already changing the world.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Ruby loudly exclaims to all our party guests. "You know what time it is?"

"Uh, 1:30?" Mr. Mitchell asks.

"Nah, it's party time!" Ruby exclaimed again.

A little girl, about six or seven, yells out. "Yeah, party time!"

I just chuckle. "Alright, Ruby, calm down now. We've got kids in the room."

"Woo! Yeah!" Ruby yells out. "Alright, gang! Let's get this par-tay started! I'm an eternal flame, baby!"

"I say!" a party guest exclaims. "All these noises are making me hungry! I have to grab a bite to eat!"

"Well, we do have Chex Party Mix if you want it," I tell the party guest. "In fact, everyone is more than welcome to have some."

"Uh, would the Chex Party Mix be mixed with marmite, by any chance?" another party guest asks.

I just shake my head. "Not really, no. Do you want anything else?"

"Nah, I was just wondering, is all."

I breathe a sigh of relief. "Oh, good."

* * *

"Happy birthday to you..." we all sing to Garnet. "Happy birthday to you... happy birthday, dear Garnet. Happy birthday to you..."

We all cheer and clap as Garnet starts smashing a piece of cake onto her face, some of it going into her mouth. She smears the icing across her face, and I just watch as she enjoys herself. After a bit of time has passed, I walk over and try to wipe her face, but she just turns her head away.

"No!" Garnet yells.

"She's getting good at this," I observe to no one in particular. "Maybe a little too good."

Ruby laughs for a bit. "You know how she is. If she says she doesn't wanna do something, then she doesn't wanna do it."

I laugh back. "Yep, that sounds like Garnet, alright. Sounds more like you, though."

"Aw yeah, I'm an eternal flame, baby!"

* * *

The party is finally starting to wind down now. Garnet has gone through some of the pieces of her cake, everyone has gotten something to eat and/or drink, and we've all danced our butts off. I hope there's some Chex Party Mix left over. Ruby and I would hate to not have some for ourselves. Just as things have been settling down, however, we hear a knock at the door.

"Hey, Ruby," I call out to her from across the room. "Could you get the door for me? I gotta change Garnet's diaper."

"Sure thing, Sapphy!" Ruby replies happily and with much of her usual inflection.

While I'm off in Garnet's room and taking time to change Garnet out of her messy diaper, I can't help but overhear the door opening and closing and some familiar voices permeating through the walls.

"Excuse me, but why didn't we get invitations to Garnet's birthday party?" asks the unmistakable voice of Mr. Fowler. "I thought you liked us?"

"Well..." Ruby begins to say.

Mrs. Fowler's voice cuts Ruby off immediately. "Don't you know how much it hurt our feelings that you didn't invite us?"

"Oh, c'mon, Mrs. Fowler," Ruby whines. "Can we not do this now?"

"Why?" Mrs. Fowler asks back. "Are you embarrassed by us? As if you weren't embarrassing yourself dressing up as a woman when you're obviously a man..."

"Excuse me?" I can practically hear Ruby's blood start to boil. "What did you just say?"

Mrs. Fowler lets out a sharp exhale. "I said... you're embarrassing yourself dressing up as a woman when you're obviously a man."

Any moment now, I expect Ruby to explode in anger and threaten them with violence... but she doesn't. She just says through gritted teeth, "Get out."

Mrs. Fowler stutters while flabbergasted. "I beg your pardon?"

Ruby's teeth are still gritted. "Get out. Now. Don't ever come back. I never want to talk to you or your damn husband ever again."

Mrs. Fowler scoffs this off. "Why, I'd never! Come on, Walter. We're going home."

Mr. Fowler clears his throat. "Yes, of course. Dreadfully sorry you feel that way, Ruby."

I have just finished changing Garnet's diaper by this time. I still can't believe the things I just said. So the rumors were true, after all...


	8. Chapter 8

A week has passed since Garnet's birthday party. We haven't spoken with the Fowlers since Ruby threw them out. It's probably for the best. Ruby and I don't need neighbors like that. That's why we've got the Mitchells and the McQueens. They've been there for us since the beginning, and they always will be...

Anyway, we've invited the neighbors over for lunch and we're talking about what's happened recently.

"How are you doing, Ruby?" Mr. Mitchell asks her.

Ruby sighs as a way to keep her lingering anger at bay. "Okay, I guess..."

"I'm sorry that you had to put up with that," Mrs. Mitchell apologizes to her. "That kind of behavior is just unacceptable."

"Yes, quite," Mr. McQueen agrees. "I don't understand how the Fowlers can think they can get away with misgendering you."

"Me neither," Mrs. McQueen chimed in. "I never thought I would hate the Fowlers until now."

"Like it matters now," I speak now. "The Fowlers will never have anything to do with us now."

Mr. Mitchell leaned forward and placed his hand on my shoulder. "You and Ruby did the right thing severing ties with them."

I give a soft smile. "Thank you. That makes us feel much better."

Mr. Mitchell smiles back. "Anything for you, Sapphire."

* * *

This is it. Garnet is finally going to get the surgery she needs to hear. The Mitchells and McQueens have offered to lend their support to us through this moment that will change our lives forever. We hope this is the best chance Garnet has to keep up with our society. Then again, who knows if she'll even be accepted at this point? I don't know what to think about this situation other than that we're doing this to help her feel safe. Should she even change for society or should society change for her? Only time will tell... only time.

Ruby and I are waiting outside the operating room while the surgeons do whatever they have to do to Garnet. Nearby, the Mitchells and McQueens sit beside us.

"Are you nervous at all, Sapphire?" Mrs. McQueen asks me.

"Kind of," I reply. "I don't want anything to go wrong during this surgery."

"Me neither."

"Did you ever have to worry like this when your kids went through surgery?"

"Of course. It's only natural for a parent to worry about what happens to their child. You're no different in that regard. Whatever happens next... you and Ruby will have to get used to, whether that's good or bad."

I give her a small smile. "Thank you. I was worried I was the only one."

Mrs. McQueen's face turns serious. "Are you sure that you're doing the right thing by Garnet?"

I'm a bit taken aback. "Of course. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. I guess it's because this kind of thing is controversial among deaf people. They can't seem to agree on whether this helps them or hurts them. Do you think when Garnet grows up that she'll thank you for going through with this surgery?"

I shake my head. "She's still very young, Mrs. McQueen. Only time will tell how she feels."

* * *

We've been waiting for what feels like forever. I can't even tell how far things are progressing at this point. Could... could something be wrong? I certainly hope not. After what feels like an hour has gone by, one of the surgeons finally comes out and makes his way toward us.

"Are you Garnet's mothers?" the surgeon asks me.

"Yes," I reply. "We certainly are."

"And those people with you are...?"

"Our neighbors."

"Right, then." The surgeon clears his throat. "I just came out to hear to tell you that the surgery was a success. I can guarantee with absolute certainty that your daughter will be able to hear like everyone else."

I sigh a breath of relief. "Oh, that's good!"

"Do you want to see her right now?"

Ruby jumps up excitedly. "Yes, please!"

The surgeon just chuckles and gestures us to follow him. "Right this way."

* * *

After following the surgeon into Garnet's hospital room, we're amazed by how calm she seems, especially while she sleeps. She went through a pretty intense surgery for a little baby, so of course I expect her to need to get some sleep. However, it doesn't seem like the surgery fazed her too much, either. Given how recently she went through it, she's going to need some time to get used to some new sounds. When she does hear them, however, she's going to love them.

"Hey, Garnet," Ruby says to her in a hushed tone. "How's it going?"

Garnet's eyes flutter open and she just stares at me and Ruby with the most beautiful eyes. She's a bit confused on what's happening, but she's got us to show her support and love.

"Oh, Garnet," I tell my daughter. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"That was quite a surgery you went through, buddy," Ruby speaks to her again. "Can't wait for you to hear what you've been missin'."

Garnet seems to smile in response to this. It's like she knows...


	9. Chapter 9

It's been a couple days since Garnet got her cochlear implant. Everything's going great now that she can hear like us. I still worry about how Garnet will react to this when she gets older, but the more I think about it, the more I can't help but feel that this may have been the best for her. After all, we took care of it before it became a real issue for her. I just have to hope that Garnet will react well to having a cochlear implant when she gets older. By then, she'll start living her own life.

Anyway, she just started talking. Her first word (at least her first actual word) was "mum." Ruby and I weren't too shocked at the time when Garnet turned out to have a British accent. Still, I wonder how this must feel for all the other parents in our shoes. Will they have to answer questions about why their kids have British accents? If so, how do they respond? Ah well, regardless, Garnet seems like she might be quite fun with other kids when she gets older.

While Ruby and I are reveling in the fact that Garnet can fully hear now, we're also hanging out with the Mitchells' grown children. One of them is a woman named Kat, a cheery kind of a woman, and she's brought her husband along with her. The other is a man named Arnold, and he appears to be quite the learned man as well. I can see the Mitchells raised them well.

"Well, well, well," Arnold begins. "So you must be the lesbians who live on the same street as my parents, correct?"

"Yes," I reply in a straightforward manner. "Yes, we are. I'm Sapphire and the woman next to me is Ruby. We have a daughter together named Garnet."

"Ah, nice to meet you finally."

"Thank you. Ruby and I have been wondering what you'd be like. I can see your parents raised you well."

Arnold chuckles a bit. "I guess I could say the same to you, Sapphire. I'm sure your parents are very proud of you and what you've accomplished."

Oh shit, he just struck a nerve. "Actually, uh, I don't talk with them anymore..."

"You don't? And why would that be?"

"I'd rather not talk about it. Ruby and I had a pretty tough year last year."

Arnold goes off on this far-off stare, something that I rarely ever see in a person. Kat, meanwhile, awkwardly laughs and then coughs.

"Oh," Kat's husband says. "Sorry to hear that."

"It's all right," I tell him. "It happened a year ago."

"Well, I hope you and Ruby and Garnet are doing alright now."

"Oh, we are. We're fine."

"Good. So anyway, we just heard that Garnet has a cochlear implant now. Is that right?"

I smile at him. "Yes, that's right."

"She can hear now," Ruby cuts in. "I can't wait until she starts preschool. She'll love music time the most."

"Oh, I bet," Arnold replies. "Garnet seems like a lovely baby."

"She is. She's awesome! She's got a British accent like you and everything!"

Arnold tilts his head curiously. "That does sound interesting. Do you think she'll have it for life?"

Ruby shrugs. "Probably so. You gotta admit, though, it's adorable."

We all start laughing.

* * *

Everyone has gone home. Now it's just the three of us again. I look out the window and notice that we're losing light now. It won't be long until it turns dark. Soon, Ruby and I start talking.

"Hey, Sapphire," she begins. "I've been thinking."

"About what?" I ask her.

Ruby sighs. "We might have to move again pretty soon."

I raise an eyebrow. "What for?"

"You heard how uncomfortable the Fowlers made me that night, don't you?"

"Yeah. It still gets me angry just thinking about it."

"Me too. How about we start getting ready to move to Delaware?"

"When?"

"Hopefully soon. We might not have too much money right now, but I'm sure we could do it."

"Alright, let me call Pearl and tell her our plans."

"Alright, you go do that."

I trudge my way out of the bedroom and into the kitchen where the wall phone is. Without even so much as a hesitation, I dial in Pearl's number and wait for her to pick up. I give her some time. Ten seconds. Seventeen seconds. Twenty-nine seconds. Thirty-three seconds. Finally, Pearl picks up.

"Hello?" she speaks up.

"Oh, hi, Pearl," I greet her. "I just want to tell you something real quick."

"Yes, what is it?"

"Uh, Ruby and I were talking. Ruby wants to move to Delaware."

"She does? What for?"

"I told you about the Fowlers, didn't I?"

"Yes, you told me how you and Ruby were having trouble getting along with them. Why do you ask?"

"Well, it's a long story, but let's just say they went too far with their transphobia. Ruby doesn't want anything to do with them anymore."

"Uh, do I even want to know what they did that was 'too far?'"

"No, and it's best if you don't ask Ruby about it, either."

For a few seconds, Pearl is stunned and doesn't exactly know what to say. "Alright. So when do you plan to move to Delaware?"

"We're not sure yet. It might be a month from now or it could be six months from now. We'll let you know when we decide."

Pearl sighs. "Okay. So I guess I'll talk to you later?"

"You sure will. Bye, Pearl."

"Bye, Sapphire. Good luck with the move. You'll certainly need it."

I chuckle at what she said. "Thanks, Pearl."

I hang up after that. I guess I should've realized that we'd have to go back to America eventually. I just didn't count on it having to happen so soon.


	10. Chapter 10

I knew when we first moved into this flat that we wouldn't be staying for very long. It's now been four months since I talked with Pearl on the phone about me and Ruby and Garnet possibly moving to Delaware. I can't believe that we'll be leaving the United Kingdom soon. Sure, the country has been nothing short of beautiful and some of the people do seem quite nice, but Ruby doesn't feel comfortable here anymore. Honestly, who could blame her? I'd want to leave too.

Yeah, I know that I've complained about the decor and the entire aesthetic of the flat complex and stuff like that, but at the same time, I couldn't help but like their presence all the same. We haven't even had that many great memories here aside from Garnet's birthday, but all those months later, all that's left of our old home sweet home is emptied rooms filled with boxes waiting to be brought into the moving vans. After that, those boxes will be coming back with us to the United States... to Delaware.

I sigh while looking over everything.

"Something wrong, babe?" Ruby asks me.

I shake my head no. "No. It's just... I never expected saying goodbye to be so... hard. We came here because we wanted to leave the bigotry and hatred behind, but we couldn't. And now... we'll have to go back home and raise Garnet over there. Oh, I hope Garnet didn't get too attached to this place."

"I know it's hard, Sapphy, but... we've been through worse things before. We can get through this."

"You're right. I just hope we're making the right decision here. I don't really know how things have been over in Delaware since we left. All we've had to go on is Pearl's word."

"Yeah... yeah. But who knows? Maybe this Greg guy is awesome!"

I giggle a bit at this. "Yearning to hang out with the cool crowd?"

"Maybe..."

* * *

Several grueling hours and a flight departure from London later, Ruby and Garnet and I have finally made it back to Beach City, Delaware.

Seems like nothing's really changed since Ruby and I left for the United Kingdom... well, aside from this Greg guy Pearl brought up when she was staying with us. Speaking of, I can spot what appears to be his van on the beach from the distance. Across its sides are the words "Mr. Universe." Guess he thinks highly of himself, huh? So after spotting Greg's van, we set out to find him and meet him in person. If he really is who he thinks he is, then maybe I might see why Rose finds him so attractive. Sure enough, we find him not long after.

Greg has long hair that go beyond his waist, and he's wearing a black T-shirt with a yellow star on it and with sleeves that have been ripped off. His jeans also appear to have been shredded quite a bit.

"Uh, who are you?" Greg asks us.

"Oh, right," I begin to speak. "My name is Sapphire Dahl, and the woman besides me is Ruby Harvey. This baby I'm holding is our daughter Garnet. We're friends with Pearl."

"So then... you must be Rose's new friend Greg, right?" Ruby asks him. "Pearl told us how much you like spending your free time with Rose."

"Yep," the wannabe rock star happlies replies. "Greg Universe is the name, and traveling through the cosmos is my game. I'm gonna make it big, baby!"

I smile, amused by his cheerful outburst. "A rock star, huh?"

"That's the idea."

I place my hand on his shoulder as a friendly gesture. "Well then... good luck on making that dream come true. I mean it."

"Thanks, that's really nice of you."

"No problem. So where's Rose anyhow? Ruby and I came back here because we missed her and our other friends."

Greg points behind him. "I think she's at the Big Donut with Pearl."

"Why didn't you come with them?" Ruby asks him, slightly confused.

"Pearl wanted to talk with her alone. She seemed upset for some reason."

"Do you think it's because Pearl might be jealous of all the time Rose spends with you?" I ask him.

Greg tilts his head in confusion. "I don't know. This is the first time I've heard about Pearl being jealous."

"You mean she never told you?"

"I don't think so... at least not to my face."

"Yeah, sorry you had to hear it from me. It's just that... Pearl's gone through a lot during her life. You were probably the last person she expected to come around."

"Well, I mean, if it means that much to Pearl..."

I cut him off. "No, no, it's fine. You don't have to stop seeing Rose just because it makes Pearl uncomfortable. If you want to go hang out with Rose, go hang out with Rose."

Greg now beams up. "You're right." He starts heading off for the Big Donut. "Thanks for the advice!"

"No!" I shout after him. "I didn't mean right now!"

But it's too late. He's already out of close proximity. He can't hear me. Ruby and I decide to go looking for Amy and see what she's been up to lately.


	11. Chapter 11

We manage to find Amy inside the beach house underneath that cliff. She's sprawled out of the couch and dozing off from what must have been some intense drinking. I'm so close to her that I can smell the alcohol on her breath. I think Garnet can smell it, too.

"Should we wake her?" Ruby asks me.

I shake my head no. "I don't think she'll need our help. She'll come to soon enough."

Just at that moment, Amy comes to and stares straight up at me.

"Ugh..." Amy murmurs. "What happened last night? How'd you guys get in?"

"Uh... through the door?" I answer, slightly confused. "Looks like you drank a lot before Ruby and I got here."

Amy doesn't quite understand at first, but then her eyes trail down to the empty cans of beer near the couch and on the coffee table.

"Oh, right..." Amy murmurs again. "I must've blacked out while getting wasted and watching 'How I Met Your Mother.'"

"Why were you watching 'How I Met Your Mother?'" I ask while utterly confused.

"I don't know. Why would I even want that stupid show? In fact, why am I talking right now when I should be trying to deal with this hangover?"

I look over to Ruby and we come to the conclusion that we should leave. As we make our way out of the beach house, we spot an old friend. It's Peri.

Peri appears to be filming something, and that something probably involves the two crabs in front of her. The two crabs keep circling in the same spot, seemingly waiting on which one will thrust their biggest claw. Peri can't wait to see what will happen next.

"Hey, Peri," I greet her from far away. "What's going on?"

Peri cranes her head around to see me and Ruby right beside her.

"Oh, it's nothing too special," Peri replies nonchalantly. "I'm just recording these two crabs and waiting to see what they will do."

"Oh, that must sound exciting."

Ruby snickers for a little bit. "Yeah, I bet."

I look over to Ruby sternly. "Ruby, be nice."

Ruby laughs sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Well, it's nice to see you came back to visit us, I guess," Peri says while she continues to film the crabs.

"Actually, Ruby and I just moved back here from London," I correct her.

"Ah. I stand corrected." She cranes her head to look at me again. "So why did you move back here?"

"It's a long story."

"Did it involve terrible neighbors?"

"Yeah, you could say that, but that's all you'll need to know."

"If you insist..." Peri stops filming the crabs after a while, having apparently already grown bored with them, and begins walking off. "Alright, I'm going to go down to the Big Donut."

"Okay!" I call out to her. "But just so you know: Pearl and Rose are in there, so you might not want to stay for long."

* * *

While passing by the Big Donut, we happen to spot Alexandra talking with Mr. Fryman about something. Since we're out of hearing range, we can't exactly tell how the conversation's going down between Alexandra and Mr. Fryman. One thing seems for certain, however: Alexandra doesn't seem comfortable with what she's experiencing right now.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Ruby asks me.

I shrug. "I'm not really sure. Maybe we can sneak in closer and find out?"

"Are you sure? Alexandra might not like it if we do that."

"Don't you want to know?"

"Well, yeah, but..."

"Then let's go."

We move in just a little bit closer, but we move to where we're just behind Mr. Fryman. Seems easy enough, right? We don't manage to hear everything between him and Alexandra, but the gist seems to be that Mr. Fryman has asked Alexandra to babysit his son Ronaldo while he and his wife go out somewhere.

"Okay, have a beautiful time!" Alexandra calls out to Mr. Fryman while he leaves.

"And you have a good day yourself!" Mr. Fryman calls back to her.

As soon as Mr. Fryman is gone, we start talking with our old friend.

"So... Mr. Fryman wants you to babysit his son, huh?" I ask while full of intrigue.

"Yeah," Alexandra replies. "He says he'll pay me, like, twenty bucks for the job. How long have you guys been standing there?"

"Not that long, right, Ruby?"

"Right!" Ruby answers quickly.

"Oh, okay. Do you want to help me babysit Ronaldo, right?"

Ruby and I look at each other sheepishly.

"Ooh, sorry," I reply to Alexandra. "Ruby and Garnet and I just moved back from London. We'll probably be unloading our things and moving into the beach house underneath the cliff for the rest of the day. Is that alright with you, Alex?"

Alexandra mumbles something that I can't hear at first.

"Huh?" I sound.

"That's fine," Alexandra says to me. "Guess I'll see you guys later."

"Alright, well, it was nice seeing you, too. Maybe Ruby and I will help you babysit some other day."

Alexandra beams up. "Oh yeah! I'd love that very much!"

* * *

Ruby and Garnet and I have now made it back inside the beach house. We look around at all the boxes that still need to be unpacked.

"Man, this is going to be a long week for us, huh?" Ruby asks me.

"I bet," I reply. "I wonder how Rose and the others will adjust to us living here."

"Probably as well as most of the other people here at Beach City. No worries, though. Things will get better for us later."

"What about Pearl? What do you think she's going to do now?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait and see."

I hope Ruby's right, but I can't be certain. All I have to go on is her word.


	12. Chapter 12

The next morning, Ruby and Garnet and I join Pearl, Amy, Rose, and Greg at the kitchen table. Out of the corner of my good eye, I can see Pearl cooking breakfast despite the smell making her a bit nauseous. Amy, meanwhile, seems to have recovered a bit from the hangover she was experiencing a while ago. As for Rose and Greg, well, they just stare at each other lovingly and don't seem to care that Pearl is behind them.

"Wow!" Ruby exclaims. "I sure am hungry. What's Pearl making for us?"

"Just the usual eggs and bacon," Amy replies matter-of-factly. "Pearl doesn't really care for the smell or taste of them, but she still likes making them for us."

"She's such a picky eater, huh?"

"You got that right."

"Any idea when they'll be ready?" I ask Amy.

"They should be ready in a few," Amy assures me.

"That's right!" Pearl pipes up. "Now I just need everyone to come up here with their plates, and I'll be done."

"Aw yeah!" Amy exclaims.

She's the first one to grab her plate and jump up from her seat. I can tell how antsy she is about getting her breakfast. Pearl just smiles and puts some eggs and bacon onto Amy's plate.

"Alright, who's next?" Pearl calls out after Amy has gone back to the table.

* * *

Just a few hours later, Rose, Greg, Ruby, and I have come back (along with little Garnet) from a sort of double date at the pizza place. Once we're inside, we notice Pearl twisting the towel over and over, seeming to try desperately to scrub off as much hard water and other residue as possible. We only had breakfast five hours ago, but Pearl seems determines to take on the burden of cleaning the dishes and utensils.

"Hey... Pearl," Greg starts to say uncertainly. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Pearl said, her voice taking on a monotone.

"Are... are you sure?"

"Oh yes, I'm sure. I've got everything under control. My relationship, my life— it's all just perfect!" Her voice changes from the monotone and apprehensively coils up as she sets a plate down on the rack.

Pearl then moves on to drying a knife.

Now it's Rose's turn to speak out. "Uh, babe, how about you leave the knives to me? In fact, why don't you go take a break?"

"What— you think I can't handle this? You think I don't have this under control? Well, I'm telling you, everything is perfectly fine!"

Rose is taken aback by this. "Whoa, whoa— I didn't say that at all!"

"Well, you might as well have. In fact, why don't you all just get out of here?!"

Just as Pearl says this, she accidentally knocks over the plate from the rack, and it shatters upon hitting the floor. Ruby and I take this as a cue that we should leave. So do Rose and Greg. And so all four of us leave the beach house to try to give Pearl some space.

"Uh, maybe we should just stop by and see how Peri is doing," Ruby suggests.

"Wait, who's Peri?" Greg asks her.

"Dude, Peri is our friend who's, like, really into filmmaking. She's an amateur at this stuff, but she's been getting better."

"Oh, cool. I'd like to meet her."

"Well, c'mon, man! Let's go!"

Ruby grabs Greg by the arm and proceeds to drag him the whole way over to Peri's condo. Rose and I follow them as we leave the beach behind and make our way up to higher ground. Some time passes before we finally make it to Peri's condo.

"Well, here we are!" Ruby announces once we've made it to Peri's front door. "And now to make ourselves known..."

Ruby loudly knocks on the door, not so much as a sign of anger but as more of a reminder that she can't really do anything quietly. We wait a few moments before Peri opens the door.

"Can I help you?" Peri asks while sounding annoyed. "And just who is this long-haired man with you?"

"Oh, you didn't hear?" Greg replies with another question. "I'm Greg Universe, and I'm going to be a rock star. Prepare to have your world rocked!"

Peri doesn't seem all that impressed. "That's nice. Did you guys just come here to visit me?"

"Yeah," I reply. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no particular reason," Peri replies back. "I guess I just wasn't expecting visitors today."

"Well, can we come in?" Rose asks. "Our friend is going through a tough time right now. We want to make sure to give her space."

Peri just shrugs. "Sure, I don't see why not."

"Awesome," Ruby says.

Peri lets the five of us in, and it's there that we spend most of the afternoon.


	13. Chapter 13

As we come inside Peri's condo, Ruby, Rose, Greg, and I cannot help but be fascinated by how surprisingly immaculate Peri seems to have kept the place. Garnet, however, has been asleep this whole time; she has no idea how beautiful Peri's place is.

"Welcome to Casa Peri!" Peri exclaims enthusiastically. "This is where you will find all sort of home movies, fanfiction, and other things I happen to be interested in!"

"Wow, that sounds cool, Peri," Rose says. "Can we read some of these fanfics while we're here?"

"Only a few," Peri replies. "The rest are off-limits."

"Why? What's off-limits about them?"

Peri looks around as if anybody else might be near you and answers, sotto voce, "They're erotic fanfics."  
"Ooh, erotic fanfics," Ruby chimes in.

Peri smiles proudly. "Yep, those kind. I've written erotic fanfics about Kirk and Spock, Xena and Gabrielle, Picard and Data, Goku and Vegeta, and even about Harry Potter and Ron Weasley."

"Wow, those sound like quite the fanfics there."

"Oh yeah. You want me to read one of them to you?"

I lift my hand up while holding Garnet in my other arm. "Maybe another time. Besides, there's a baby here."

"Oh well, your loss. You want me to show you one of my home movies?"

I smile and answer, "Sure."

"Oh, thank God! I finally have an audience!" Peri gestures us to follow her to another room. "You're about to see the works of the next Stanley Kubrick!"

* * *

It's now six in the evening, and Ruby, Rose, Greg, Garnet, and I are all ready to go back to the beach house.

"Alright, it was nice seeing you again!" I call out to Peri as I follow everyone else back home.

"You too, Sapphire!" Peri calls back out to me. "We should do this again sometime!"

I smile, knowing that I just brightened up a good portion of the day for our old friend. Once back inside the beach house, we find Pearl sitting at the table by herself. She's still apprehensive from the incident this afternoon.

"Hey, Pearl..." I speak quietly to her. "We're back."

Pearl does not say anything back.

"Hey, Pearl," Ruby starts to speak. "Where's Amy?"

"I asked her to do errands," Pearl finally replies quietly. "I needed some time alone after I broke down."

Now it's Rose's turn to speak. "You scared me there for a second, Pearl. What's wrong?"

Pearl doesn't say anything at first. Then she tilts her head up and cranes it at Greg.

"It's Greg," Pearl finally replies after thirty seconds of silence.

Rose raises a brow in confusion. "I'm sorry?"

"Greg is what's wrong."

"What did he do to set you off, though? Why don't you like him? I don't understand."

Pearl just rolls her eyes. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's because he's trying to steal you away from me... from us..."

"He's not stealing anything from anybody, Pearl, especially not me. Every single time I've hung out with him, I've done so of my own volition. I love when Greg and I are together, actually."

"Well... well..." Now Pearl is fumbling with her words. "If you love him so much, why don't you just abandon us and go live with him, huh?!"

That really does it for Rose. She tries her best to compose herself and she thinks over her words carefully.

"Look, Pearl, I get it," Rose begins. "We've had a special relationship for a long time. It's that kind of relationship that no one can ever forget. However, what you just said just stung me so badly that I can't even begin to tell you how much it hurt. How can you just say that I'll abandon you just to hang out with Greg? How can you just think that every new person I want to... sow my oats with is going to take me away from you? Don't forget, you were the one I had to turn to when I was having problems with Coral. Why can't you just be happy that I'm making new friends?"

"Rose, you don't understand..." Pearl starts to speak before Rose cuts her off.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I don't understand everything there is to know about anxiety, but that doesn't mean you have to use it to hold people back. That doesn't mean you have to use it to control me, Pearl..." She stops and sits down next to Pearl. "I'm sorry, Pearl. I've been trying to understand. I really have. It's just... I don't think this relationship can work, Pearl."

Pearl is taken aback by this. "What? What are you saying?"

"I think it's over, Pearl," Rose replies softly. "But that doesn't mean we can't still be friends, right?"

Pearl sighs heavily. "Of course not. I'll always cherish our time together as girlfriends." Pearl gives a little smile.

Rose smiles back. "Me too."

Jeez, that actually turned out better than I was expecting. I can't be certain if their platonic relationship will ever be the same after that, but there is one thing I can be certain about. Ruby and I will not be heading down that road for a long time.


	14. Chapter 14

Ruby and I are almost done unpacking everything from London. After that ordeal with Pearl and Rose yesterday, we figured that finishing up setting up the furniture would take our minds off of things. While we finish up with what's yet to be taken out of the boxes, Amy is over in a corner and playing with little Garnet. I'm so grateful that Ruby and I still have friends like Amy to help ease things. Sure, Amy may drink herself into a hangover when she feels like partying, but she takes really well to little babies like Garnet.

"Get ready for liftoff, little G!" I can hear Amy squealing as she lifts Garnet over her head.

"Be careful with her!" Ruby calls out to Amy. "She's really fragile!"

"Relax, Rube," Amy says. "I totally got this!"

"Okay. Just be careful, though!"

Amy just gives Ruby a wink and then runs off while she's still lifting Garnet over her head.

"Okay, now where were we?" Ruby asks me.

I instantly remember where we left off. "Oh, right! I believe we were going to start unpacking this lamp and move it into our bedroom."

"Oh yeah, good call!" Ruby exclaims. "I'm so glad Pearl let us pick the guest room as a place to sleep. It beats having to share the futon couch with Amy."

"Oh yeah, definitely." I push some of the packaging peanuts out of their designated box to get to the bottom half of our dissembled lamp. "Now where exactly did you want to put the lamp."

"Uh, near the bed?"

"How near?"

"Maybe in the top-left corner."

"Are you sure about that? It might mess up the feng shui."

"Okay, how about the bottom-left corner?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a better place to put it. Plus, the electrical outlet is nearby."

"Alright, sounds good to me."

After we've managed to retrieve the pieces we need to reassemble the lamp, we start doing just that: reassembling the lamp. It's not as easy as it sounds. It takes close to an hour just to completely put the thing together. Just when it seems like we're almost finished, Amy comes back... but she doesn't have Garnet.

"Amy, where's Garnet?" I ask while there's worry in my voice.

"Chill, man," Amy replies. "I gave her to Pearl so I could help you guys."

Just as she says this, Pearl comes walking in with Garnet clutched tightly to her chest.

"How's the unpacking going?" Pearl asks cheerfully. "It looks like you're almost done."

"Yeah, it does, doesn't it?" I ask her back. "How are you handling Garnet?"

"She's just an angel, thank you. Of course, I should already know this from when I visited you some months back, but she still managed to surprise me somehow."

I chuckle. "I know, right? I'll be so sad when she hits those terrible twos."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about those so much. They might be terrific twos, for all you know."

"But maybe they won't."

"Sapphire, why don't you just leave the worrying to me right now? You and Ruby and Amy still have to unpack. I'll take things from here."

I smile at her. "Thanks, Pearl. You always manage to find the right words to say."

"You're welcome." She then walks off with Garnet to perform an errand.

I'm so grateful to have Pearl in my life. I can be sure Ruby is, too. There's just something about Pearl that gives us such great feelings... like everything will be alright. I know Pearl struggles sometimes (especially when it comes to relationships, like with Rose), but through it all, she always manages to find a way to stay strong... strong in the real way.

* * *

After Ruby and Amy and I have finished with the unpacking, we decide to stop by the pizza place where Rose and Greg are. We can hear Kofi arguing with his mother over something in the background while his wife is yelling out the customer's orders to the both of them. The arguing and Kofi's wife yelling out orders almost make it hard to hear what Rose and Greg are saying. Speaking of Rose and Greg, Amy manages to spot them almost immediately.

"Oh, hey, guys!" Greg has to shout to us. "You came just in time."

"Why?" I ask. "What for?"

"Well..." Greg starts to think for a second. "How do I put this? Rose and I will be celebrating our first anniversary later today."

"First anniversary? You've only been together for one day."

"Exactly. We're celebrating one day since we got together."

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

"I don't know. That's why I'm glad you came. You could help us come up with some ideas."

"That's right!" Rose concedes. "What do you think we can do?"

I think about it for a minute. Anything to help out two people I care about... Nothing seems to come to me at first, but once it hits me, I speak up on it.

"Well, why don't you guys eat here first?" I suggest. "Then, once you go home, you can do some group karaoke."

Greg is intrigued by what I just suggested. "That's the best idea you could've come up with, Sapphire. How can I thank you?"

"Would you guys share your pizza with us?" Amy asks, quite eager to get a bite of pizza.

"What?" I ask, confused. "Amy, I didn't think..."

"Aw, c'mon!" Amy whines. "I'm really hungry! I haven't even eaten anything since I helped you and Ruby unpack."

I shrug. "Eh, alright. We can have some pizza while we're here."

Amy fist-pumps. "Awesome."

* * *

After eating some pizza, it's time for me and the rest of the gang to head on home. But first, we have to stop by Peri's condo and ask to borrow her karaoke machine... well, one of her karaoke machines. She has so many of them that I'm surprised she hasn't tried to sell one of them yet. Surely, she won't mind having to lose one of them for at least a day, right?

I knock on Peri's door. "Peri, are you in there?"

I don't hear anything right now. I wait a few seconds, then knock again. A few more seconds later, Peri opens the door.

"Can I... help you guys?" Peri asks uncertainly. "It'd probably help if you let me know in advance."

"Sorry about that," I reply. "Anyway, we came to borrow a karaoke machine."

"To do karaoke with, right?"

"No, to make into luggage. Of course, it's to do karaoke with."

"Okay... what's the occasion?"

"Rose and Greg are celebrating the twenty-four hours they've been together. We want to help them with some karaoke."

"Alright, but I better be in on the karaoke. Also, make sure you don't break it. It cost me almost half a grand."

"Sounds like a deal."

And so we wait for Peri to go into another room and rummage around for one of her many karaoke machines. We can't wait for the fun to start. I can feel the excitement already.


	15. Chapter 15

After retrieving the karaoke machine from Peri's condo, the gang and I have finally made it back home. Now it's time to get this party started. While Peri proceeds to set up the karaoke machine in the living room, Ruby and I split off from Amy, Greg, and Rose to see how Pearl and Garnet are doing.

"So..." I begin. "How did Garnet treat you while we were out?"

"Beautifully," Pearl replies.

"Aww," Ruby says. "That's good."

"Thank you," Pearl replies again. "I'm so glad I could confide in her while I was by myself."

"What do you mean?"

"Well..." It takes a few moments for Pearl to gather their thoughts. "While I was looking after Garnet, I would talk out loud to no one in particular except myself. I don't know if Garnet was listening to me the whole time or what, but not once did she ever judge me for who I am."

"I see..."

"And for that... I thank her..." Pearl then moves her head slightly to face me. "And thank you guys for still putting up with me after what happened recently."

"Aw, shucks," I say. "You would've done the same for us."

Suddenly, Peri announces that the karaoke machine has been set up. I turn around and see that, sure enough, it's right behind me and ready to be played.

"Awesome!" Ruby exclaims.

"Alright," Peri begins. "Any song you want to play first?"

I think for a second. Then it dawns on me...

"How about the 'Endless Love' cover by Mariah Carey and Luther Vandross?" I suggest amusingly.

"Sure thing." Peri selects the song that will play and then hands me and Ruby the microphones. "I don't care how good your singing is. Just give it your best shot."

I clear my throat.

_My love, there's only you in my life,_  
_The only thing that's bright._

Ruby stares at me with awe before having to sing the next couple verses.

_My first love, _  
_You're every breath that I take._  
_You're every step I make._

Not long after Ruby finishes her verses, it's my turn to sing again.

_And I, I want to share_  
_All my love with you._  
_No one else will do._

A couple seconds go by. Ruby has to sing again.

_And your eyes, your eyes, your eyes..._  
_They tell me how much you care ._  
_Ooh yes, _  
_You will always be_  
_My endless love._

Then it's time for us to be a duet.

_Two hearts,_  
_Two hearts that beat as one._  
_Our lives have just begun._

We go on and on like this for what seems like forever. By forever, of course, I mean the rest of our lives... as much time as we have left. Thing is, though, Ruby and I are already spending the rest of our lives together. We've just happened to welcome many new people into our lives... including little Garnet. She makes our forevers worth it... our little girl.


End file.
